He died last Friday, May 11th. He drowned, apparently rescuing his K-9 from the canal. Here's the story from a web site that lists "Downed officers":
Border Patrol Agent Richard Goldstein
Cause of Death: Drowned
Date of Incident: Friday, May 11, 2007
Incident Location: California
Agent Richard Goldstein drowned in the Coachella canal near Niland, California, east of the Salton Sea.
After he went missing, Agent Goldstein's canine partner was found sitting alongside his vehicle, which was parked and idling near the canal. The Customs and Border Protection and California Highway Patrol Air divisions assisted several Border Patrol Agents in the search for the missing agent. A short time later he was found drowned a few miles from his vehicle.
Agent Goldstein's K-9 partner, Carlo, was wet, and markings in the area indicate the dog had been in the water and struggled to get out of the canal. Early reports indicate Agent Goldstein entered the canal in order to rescue his K-9 partner.
Agent Goldstein was a five-year veteran of the Border Patrol and was assigned to the El Centro Sector's Indio Station. He is survived by his wife, two stepsons, parents, and a granddaughter, who was born the night before his death.
Thanks for posting some sanity and reason.
A dog that can't swim. Imagine that.
Unless the dog told them he went into the canal to rescue him (the dog) how do they know the dog didn’t go into the canal to try to rescue the BP agent? Perhaps there’s more evidence but what I read doesn’t indicate to me that they could know why the guy was in the canal, only that he was in the canal and drowned (I will certainly take them at their word there, as that’s pretty easy to figure out via autopsy) and that the dog had been in the canal and struggled to get out.
susie